it's not looking good guys 
Discussion
I know the feeling 
All the Memes …
i see a nas in your future...unless you just like your media being scanned by apple on top of the fees
a nas?
network attached storage
check out this short video by wolfgang 🤙🏻
Nas or a pi + external hd running syncthing is a good way to do local backups.
synology photos is a pretty damn good drop in google/apple photos replacement too
but it will lock you in to synology. i recommend using it for photo backup from mobile to nas in addition to using a device only photo gallery app, this way you can delete photos from your phone and they will stay backed up on synology photos
you can get a little usb stick that plugs into the phone to save off your photos, no cloud storage necessary. 